Absolutely true. your statement about the .35 Whelen devotees already having one when Remington spun there's out is interesting. I wonder if that is essentially true. I mean, like you say, the caliber had been out for many years.

And absolutely true about the .270. Frankly, who NEEDS much more than such a caliber? Not very many hunters in the USA.

Along those lines, one of the loads I remember reading years ago as a primo .35 Whelen deer load was the 200 grain {intended for the .35 Remington} bullet driven as fast as possible. As poor a performer as it was against really big game, it was said to an absolute bomb on whitetails.

I'd love to run some 1920's-1940's vintage 220 grain .30-06 loads and 250 grain .35 Whelen loads into my test media. I have a hunch that with available bullets of the day, there was no great or even noticeable difference between the two calibers in those loadings.